Greek energy groups PPC, DEPA Commercial and Damco Energy, a subsidiary of Copelouzos Group, have joined forces to start construction of an 840 MW natural gas power plant in the Aegean port of Alexandroupolis, Copelouzos Group announced.
The power plant will be directly connected to the floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Alexandroupolis currently being developed by Gastrade and will have the potential to supply markets in Greece and the wider Southeast European region, the statement said. Completion of construction is planned by the end of 2025.
The Alexandroupolis LNG terminal, with a regasification capacity of 5.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year, is expected to be operational by the end of 2023. Bulgaria owns a 20 percent stake in the terminal and has reserved storage capacity of one billion cubic meters per year.
The general director of Copelouzos Group said in a statement that Greece achieves energy sufficiency with this project, while creating a new energy pillar for Southeast Europe, because the country will be able to export electricity to the neighboring Balkan countries – Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Serbia.
The power plant will use gas and steam turbines in a combined cycle. It will replace three lignite power plants that will be decommissioned and will have equipment suitable for burning hydrogen, the statement added. This is in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal, promoting decarbonisation in the energy sector and ensuring affordable electricity supply, the company said.
